Michele Bachmann: I'm quitting my House seat in 2014

In an eight-minute video, the Minnesota congresswoman said she will not seek a fifth congressional term. She specified that her decision was not related to concerns she would not win re-election. NBC's Peter Alexander reports.

By Ian Johnston, Staff Writer, NBC News

Tea Party favorite Michele Bachmann, who last year ran for the Republican presidential nomination, announced on Wednesday that she will stand down from her seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

In a video posted on her website and on YouTube, the stressed that her decision to stand down from her Minnesota seat was not due to any concern she would be defeated at the next election in 2014 or the inquiries into activities of her former presidential campaign staff.

And she said she would continue to fight for the policies she believes in and that her future was “limitless and my passion for America will remain.”

“There is no future option or opportunity … that I wouldn’t be giving serious consideration if it can help save and protect our great nation,” she said.

Congresswoman Michele Bachmann shares a very special message with the people of Minnesota's 6th Congressional District. Learn more at MicheleBachmann.com

Bachmann said her decision to run for Congress and to seek the presidency had been “based solely on my heartfelt concern for our country’s future.”

“Unfortunately today I am even more concerned about our country’s future than I’ve ever been in the past,” she said.

“On so many issues, we’re clearly on the wrong track,” she added.

She said her decision was not influenced by her tough reelection campaign or the investigation into her 2012 presidential campaign. "Be assured, my decision was not in any way influenced by any concerns about my being re-elected to Congress," Bachmann said. "And rest assured, this decision was not impacted in any way by the recent inquiries into the activities of my former presidential campaign or my former presidential staff."

But Bachmann had already begun running television ads in her district -- a full 17 months ahead of the 2014 election.

Businessman Jim Graves, the Democrat who narrowly lost to Bachmann last fall, recently announced his intentions to run again. In a statement after her announcement, Graves said, "This serves to show that even Rep. Bachmann is hearing that Minnesota's 6th is ready for a new, business-oriented approach. As recent polling indicates, our message is resonating with the people of the 6th District and she recognized that. She must also have recognized that it would be an uphill battle for her going forward."

Bachmann said she had fought for a balanced budget and fiscal responsibility and warned of the “ultimate risk of the destruction of our entire economic system.”

She said she had “called out the Muslim Jihadi terrorists for who they are and for the evil they perpetrate upon our people” and highlighted the blunders of U.S. foreign policy in relation to the Arab Spring uprisings, which she described as an “evil earthquake.”

Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, who staged a run for president in 2011, announced on Wednesday she would not run for another term. Politico's Mike Allen joins Morning Joe to discuss her decision

She also slammed the “despicable treatment” by the U.S. of “our great friend and ally Israel.”

And she would also oppose the Democrats, saying “our founders would hardly even recognize” the U.S. of today.

“Feel confident that over the next 18 months I will continue to work 100-hour weeks and continue to do everything I can to advance our conservative principles that have served as the bedrock for who we are as a nation.”